World Economic Forum study directs Bank of Ghana to review minimum investment capital requirement, here’s why

The Lead Consultant for the study, Mr Appiah Kusi Adomako made the revelation while presenting the study’s findings at a validation workshop in Accra.

According to him, setting a minimum threshold capital requirement across the board would prevent investments into sectors which do not require substantial investment.

He cited, for example, that a foreign investor coming to invest in the information communication technology (ICT) sector does not need to have the same capital requirements as someone coming to invest in the real estate or mining sector.

“All enterprises in the country with foreign participation are required to register with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC). Under the new GIPC Act, 2013 (Act 865); the minimum capital required for retail business has also moved from US$300,000 to US$1million, while foreign investors who participate in joint venture enterprises have to show a minimum capital of US$200,000 with wholly-owned foreign enterprises showing a minimum capital of US$500,000,” he said.

He added that as part of efforts to attract foreign investors, most countries in the West Africa sub-region have removed the minimum capital requirements for foreign investors. With phase-two of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) on investment, intellectual property and competition policy to start very soon, Ghana will need to align its investment laws with those of the continent.

Mr Adomako then recommended that in order to facilitate investment and the ease of doing business, government should deploy an online single window for company registration, tax registrations, SSNIT, business operating permits and investment certificates.